Asking the price: “How much is this?”
For one thing, ask with “is” and answer with “It’s…”. For two or more, ask with “are” and answer with “They’re…”. The cards above play the key phrases: listen, then say them out loud.
- “How much is this?” – “It’s five pounds.”
- “How much are these?” – “They’re ten pounds.”
- “They’re twelve pounds each.” – “each” means the price is for one of them.
This, that, these and those
English chooses the word by asking two things: one or more, and near or farther away? Near usually means in your hand or right in front of you.
- this: one thing near you. “How much is this wallet?”
- that: one thing farther away. “How much is that umbrella?”
- these: two or more things near you. “How much are these key rings?”
- those: two or more things farther away. “How much are those T-shirts?”
How prices are said in English
Say the pounds first, then the pence. After pounds, people usually drop “pence”, and in shops often “pounds” too. One is “a penny”; “pence” is already plural, so there is no “pences”.
- £5 – “five pounds”; £1 – “a pound”
- £6.50 – “six pounds fifty” or “six fifty”
- £12.99 – “twelve ninety-nine”
- 50p – “fifty p” or “fifty pence”
- Dollars and euros work the same way: $4.50 is “four dollars fifty” or “four fifty”.
Fifteen or fifty? Hearing the difference
“-teen” numbers (13–19) and “-ty” numbers (30, 40, 50…) sound close in a noisy shop. On their own, “-teen” numbers are stressed at the end, fif-TEEN, and “-ty” numbers at the start, FIF-ty. Before a noun the stress can move (“FIF-teen pounds”), so the safest clue is the ending: “-teen” has a long “ee” and a clear n; “-ty” is short.
- thirteen – thirty; fourteen – forty (no u in forty)
- fifteen – fifty; sixteen – sixty
- seventeen – seventy; eighteen – eighty
- nineteen – ninety
Checking a price you misheard
If you are not sure, don’t just pay and hope. Repeat the number you think you heard as a question; the other person confirms or corrects it.
Below, a customer orders lunch and hears “fifteen” instead of “fifty”. Listen, then take the customer’s part with a different price.
Server Hello. What would you like?
Maya A cheese sandwich and water, please.
Server Certainly. That's six pounds fifty.
Maya Sorry, six pounds fifteen?
Server No, six pounds fifty.
Maya Six fifty. Thank you.
More ways to check a number
Pick the one that fits the moment:
- “Sorry, can you repeat that?” – when you missed the number completely.
- “Is that one-five or five-zero?” – the digits remove any doubt.
- “So that’s six fifty?” – to confirm before you pay.
- The till or card machine screen usually shows the total.
Common mistakes
Each of these has an easy fix:
- “How many is it?” Prices take “How much”: “How much is it?” “How many” is for counting things: “How many keys?”
- “How much is these?” Use “are” with these and those, and answer “They’re…”.
- “Six point fifty.” “Point” is for decimals, as in “six point five kilometres”, not for prices. Say “six fifty”.
- “Fifty-six” for £6.50. Pounds come first: “six fifty”.
- Saying “yes” to a price you missed. “Sorry, six fifteen?” is polite and saves you paying the wrong amount.
A 10-minute daily practice routine
Short daily practice beats one long weekly session. Say everything out loud.
- 2 minutes: read the number pairs above aloud, record yourself and check that each “-teen” ends in a clear n.
- 2 minutes: play the lunch conversation, pausing to repeat each line.
- 3 minutes: read five prices aloud from a receipt or a shopping website: “twelve ninety-nine”, “three fifty”.
- 3 minutes: a friend says a price with “-teen” or “-ty”; repeat it as a question and let them confirm or correct it. Alone, point at things at home and ask “How much is this?” or “How much are those?”
What comes next
Once prices feel easy, move on to talking about things and their owners: “Whose bag is this?” – “It’s Tom’s.” You will keep using this, that, these and those, and plurals: one key, two keys; one watch, three watches. “Watches” adds a syllable, like “boxes” and “glasses”.